20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible animal encounters, easy planning, kind and knowledgable staff
My husband and I spent 9 days on a private safari in Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. We also traveled to Lake Natron.
The safari was easy to set up, and the representative I worked with Theresia, was knowledgable and helpful with all of my requests and changes for the custom tour.
While on safari, we had an incredible tour guide Fadhil, who was extremely knowledgable about the animals we saw and their behavior, leading to us witnessing many more animals than we ever anticipated and experiencing some really neat and close up animal encounters.
All of our accommodations were as expected or better, and the food was also plentiful and good.
I would highly recommend anyone interested in a safari to book with Safari Soles and hopefully, you will be so lucky to have Fadhil as your guide. He went above and beyond for us, even finding us adequate footwear when we were underprepared.
Hopefully, one day we will be able to return to experience even more of what Tanzania has to offer.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa at Its Best with a Local Safari Team
Our trip to Africa with Wecam Safaris was truly remarkable. They did not press any ready-made package. From the very beginning, we have created a completely personal journey by understanding our preferences, time and budget. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. We saw the Big Five at the Masai Mara and Amboseli, and every moment felt very quiet and luxurious.
Being a Kenyan-owned company, their local knowledge and connections really stand out. From the communication to the entire trip management, everything was professional and perfect. Wecam Safaris is perfect for those who want to experience Africa on their own, rather than just taking a normal tour. We will definitely be with you on your next trip.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely responsive with amazing tour guides who are extremely knowledgeable!
Rioba safaris is an excellent tour operator. The main point of contact for us was Donant, who was very responsive, friendly and helped us plan our entire tour.
Our safari started from Nairobi where we were greeted by Jonathan and Soi who were fun and amazing guides. With their expertise and amazing spotting skills., we were able to spot all the big 5 animals multiple times during our game drives. In Kenya, We travelled to Nakuru followed by Masai Mara for 2 nights! The sightings we had were exceptional and made our trip very memorable. From the Mara, we went to Tanzania where we met our next guide Pancras, who was also very knowledgeable. He explained the local culture and things we saw along the way. We spent one night in Northern Serengeti, a night in central and then visited the Ngorongoro crater which was a very unique experience. We also included the hot air balloon safari in our itinerary and it was definitely worth it! The experience was unique and we witnessed the Serengeti early in the morning.
We also had the privilege to visit the Masai Boma village where we got to see how the Masai tribe lives and experienced their culture.
We stayed for a night in Arusha before heading back to Kenya, where we were picked up by Jonathan and Soi. We headed to Amboseli where we got to view Mount Kilimanjaro and see huge African Elephants.
Overall, our trip was fantastic and I would highly recommend Rioba Safaris!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Experience
Michelle from Viatu was absolutely fantastic in arranging our Kruger safari. From our very first conversation, her service was exceptional, and the recommendations she made were absolutely perfect for what we were looking for.
What really stood out was Michelle’s personal attention to us. Nothing was ever too much trouble. She was incredibly responsive, patient (as first time safari peeps) and helpful throughout, always happy to answer questions, make suggestions and ensure every detail was taken care of.
Michelle clearly understood exactly what we wanted from our safari, and her knowledge and advice were invaluable. The choices she recommended were spot on, and the whole experience exceeded our expectations.
We couldn’t recommend Michelle (and Viatu) highly enough and would have absolutely no hesitation asking Michelle to arrange our next African adventure. Botswana next!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Incredible Safari – Made Special by Outstanding Guides and Service
An Incredible Safari – Made Special by Outstanding Guides and Service
We booked the 2-day, 1-night safari with Uwanda Tours from Zanzibar, which included airport transfers, return flights, a full-day game drive, a Maasai village visit and a boat safari.
Overall, we had a fantastic experience and would certainly recommend Uwanda Tours.
Day 1 – Game Drive
Our private game drive was phenomenal! A huge thank you to our guide, Mr Martin, and driver, Mr Paul, who were absolutely fantastic. Both were extremely knowledgeable and informative, and from the outset we were made to feel that they would do everything possible to help us see all the wildlife we hoped for.
We managed to see some incredible animals, with the elusive leopards being the only ones that managed to escape us!
Tea, coffee and plenty of chilled soft drinks were provided throughout the day, along with a fantastic lunch. Everything was well organised and we felt very well looked after.
We chose to arrange our own accommodation, which turned out to be superb. We stayed at Selous Kulinda Camp, which we would highly recommend. Please see our separate review for more details.
Day 2 – Boat Safari and Maasai Village
The boat safari was another great experience, with an excellent guide who was once again extremely informative and knowledgeable.
Our Maasai village visit was equally enjoyable. The guide was superb, and we came away with a much greater understanding and appreciation of Maasai culture and traditions. A really interesting and worthwhile experience.
Important advice for future travellers
One thing we would strongly advise is doing your own research into the accommodation being recommended or included in your safari package.
We opted for and paid a small amount extra to stay at Selous Kulinda Camp and were absolutely delighted with our choice. However, having spoken to other guests on our boat tour, several were very unhappy with the standard of the accommodation they had been allocated at Selous Safari Lodge.
Accommodation is an important part of a safari experience, particularly when you are only away for one night, so don’t simply assume that all recommended camps and lodges offer the same standard. Check recent reviews and photographs before committing, and make sure you are happy with exactly where you will be staying and don’t be swayed as the company has good relationships with the accommodations.
A couple of other points for future travellers:
There were no water or soft drinks provided on the second day. It was extremely hot, so we would strongly recommend taking plenty of water with you.
Our top tip: If you are planning this trip, we would personally recommend doing the boat safari first and the game drive second. We felt the itinerary was a little back to front and would have preferred to finish with the full-day game drive.
Despite these small points, we thoroughly enjoyed our safari. The guides and drivers really made the experience, and their enthusiasm, knowledge and genuine desire to help us enjoy the wildlife made all the difference.
Thank you, Uwanda Tours, for some truly unforgettable memories!
JP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
fun Safari
I joined a 2-night, 3-day safari tour.
Since it was my first safari in Kenya, I booked a private car to take care of my health.
From the hotel pickup to the excellent service and responsiveness, they were a reliable guide.
The accommodation was clean, and the meals were especially excellent.
I would also like to recommend Mr. Jonison's guide when recommending it to friends.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
David and Francis are worth the 5 stars
A 6 day Safari adventure in Tarangire Park, Serengeti Park, and Ngorongoro Crater was perfectly curated by Cubs Expedition. Our driver, David, was a very safe driver who had the best eyesight to spot out all the animals and birds, capturing the Big 5 for my first time in Tanzania. The game drives have been chill and informative, with David being very patient for a group of 6 all trying to take photos of as many animals as possible. And it was very appreciative that even after long drives, he would still take the time to hang out and joke with us during and post dinner. It was a ton of fun playing cards with him. I would recommend David as your driver for your next Safari adventure!
Unfortunately, there was a lack of communication on our guide and what happened with him, so Charles never show up as expected. I wished Cubs Expedition would have alerted us on what was going on instead of keeping us in the dark. Luckily, we had Francis as our driver, but learned he didn't have much sleep and wasn't prepared to escort us on our Materuni waterfall hike. Instead, we had an excellent guide from the coffee tour who escorted us and helped my older parents in doing the hike and the tour was really informative and great. I highly recommend the coffee tour. In terms of the Hot Springs, it is a fun area but would not recommend staying long there as you keep getting told to pay extra for the springs or for a swim escort.
David, Francis, and the Chagga Village Coffee Tour were definitely highlights. Cubs Expedition could work on transparency on communication if the itinerary changed and the expectation on additional tips required for each of the guides and airport drivers we had.
JP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5star experience
Everything went smooth.
They responded very quickly to our inquiry via WhatsApp and gave clear instructions on how to apply for the tour.
Staffs at the office were friendly and very polite.
Our guide/driver Johny Jackson was an excellent guide with 15years of experience. He was very helpful throughout our journey. Always on time and the vehicle was super clean. He puts effort to keep the vehicle clean every day to provide us the comfortable space. At the safari, he did his best to get the best view of animals. We’ve seen so many animals in just two days.
Easily the 10/10 experience with them.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Assad provides an excellent safari experience personalized to your individual needs.
Assad is an excellent guide. He is very reliable and friendly, speaks great English and has an impressive amount of knowledge about the wildlife and plant life of the area. He amazed us by scanning for wildlife while also driving and seeing things we would never have spotted like lions sleeping under trees and rare black rhinos you could only recognize through binoculars. He is very flexible and can design your personalized safari to fit your individual needs. Highly recommend.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced and adaptable
Our tour to Nakuru and Masai Mara was well organised and since our main focus was the safari, we were able to request to have longer game drives. Our guide Peter had amazing skills to spot animals from a long distance and we managed to see the big 5 by the third game drive, and saw multiple sightings of rare animals like rhinos, cheetahs and leopards. We also saw more than 10 sightings of lions. Even when we requested for special animals like secretary birds and cheetah cubs, our guide managed to deliver. We truly enjoyed the hospitality of Kenya and the staff here.